Habitat for Humanity, Pontotoc County is a non-profit organization, and as such is dependent upon financial contributions of individuals and organizations as well as fundraising efforts to operate in the black. The sale of recycled aluminum cans is but one of the many income sources for Habitat for Humanity. Persons often drop off bags of aluminum cans at the backdoor of the Habitat office, and it’s not uncommon to find some on the front steps, too.On her way to work earlier this year, my wife, the Executive Director for the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, saw several bags of cans had been left in front of the Habitat warehouse. She called Father Pete Peterson to let him know about the cans. Father Pete selflessly harvests aluminum products for recycling and donates 100% of the sales of the cans to Habitat. Sadly, the cans disappeared before he arrived to pick them up. Similar occurrences of cans disappearing from behind the office of Habitat have also been noted.
A month ago, my niece Felicia, who lives across the street from the office of Habitat for Humanity, Pontotoc County was about to leave for work when she saw a man picking up a bag of aluminum cans that had been left on the front steps of the Habitat office. When she confronted him, he told her he was helping “that man,” a likely reference to Father Pete.
It was a plausible story, but Felicia suspected the man was a thief. She obtained his name, wrote down his tag number along with a description of his vehicle, and phoned me to verify whether Father Pete had acquired a helper. I assured her that Father Pete did not have a sidekick.
Felicia, later, saw a friend on the police force and gave him the information she had written down. The officer traced the tag, phoned the surprised owner and learned that the brother of the owner of the vehicle used in the crime was the likely perpetrator. The vehicle owner assured the officer he’d find out what had transpired.
Felicia received a call about an hour later from the police officer asking her to come to the police station to identify the bag of cans. No charges were pressed as the stolen property was returned, and the owner of the vehicle explained the seriousness of the situation to his brother.
Father Pete credits Felicia’s civic action with a boost in his office collections. And, I’d like to believe the can-thief is now reformed. However, even if that’s true, there’s always someone out there looking to take advantage of a charitable act and turn it into a personal gain.
